Luna-class
The Luna-class Space Escort is the third main warship of the ZAFT organization, the main defense force, of the PLANT Colonies. It is the main light combat ship, and escort ship of ZAFT therefore is often called ZAFT Escort Ship by others. It used for a variety of different tasks including escort, patrol, and serving in large ZAFT Teams. Technology & Combat Characteristics The Luna-class is a new design first developed and introduced by ZAFT around the time of the Battle of Nova. It was designed to serve as a light escort ship for the larger ZAFT Capital Ships like the Laurasia and Nazca-class ships. However the design went back further then that during years before the start of the war. Basically around the time of the brief C.E.60 Pirate Crisis the PLANTs would look into introducing a small amount of so-called patrol ships/security ships for the purpose of defending themselves against pirate attacks. This design was called the Minovsky-class Space Security Vessel and would have been the largest ever ship produced by the PLANTs if the design wasn’t shelved and the Laurasia-class Frigate was developed around the time of the Mandlebrot Incident which saw the formation of ZAFT as a paramilitary force. The Luna-class is a smaller version of the larger Minovsky-class and sports two of the three planned forward main weapons. It also sports the ability to carry its own mobile suits, something its nearest competitor the Drake-class couldn’t do. The Mobile Suit hanger is located along the bottom of the forward hull inside a so-called “bulge” which sometimes has people calling the ship pregnant. While the hangar is vastly smaller than the one on the larger Laurasia-class Frigate it is still able to carry four mobile suits into battle though it abandons the need to carry a dissembled spare mobile suit which both the larger ZAFT ships usually can carry if needed. The main weapons of the Luna-class are the three paired XM24 375mm high energy beam cannons with two mounted along the “neck” of the ship, while the third is mounted along the back of the secondary hull facing aft covering that major weak point of the earlier Minovsky-class design. The XM24 duel-cannon is basically a smaller version of the XM22 duel-cannon found on the Laurasia-class which gives the small escort a hefty main battery for use against enemy ships. Even with the firepower it carries the true strength of the class is that it could be used for a variety of different missions including general escort duties of larger combat ships, patrol and interdiction, and several other different missions. It is partly thanks to this, and that its cheap, that ZAFT has produced numerous ships of the class since its introduction, with many becoming the main escorts of the also recently introduced Nazca-class Destroyers and Laurasia-class Frigates. All in all the Luna-class while small compared to other main combatants can still deliver a hefty punishment to any of its enemies, and thanks to the large number ZAFT can easily mobilize larger fleets than ever before mainly due to the small price tag, and its low crew count allowing them to sport numerous ships of this class in their space forces. Over time the Luna-class has become quite notable in that while it sports heavy firepower it also carries a small squad of mobile suits something that only the larger Nike-class is able to duplicate. Therefore it comes no surprise when the Earth Alliance would introduce the slightly larger Hood-class Light Cruiser after the end of the war which sports similar mobile suit compliment and weapons of the Luna-class though the Alliance would be mostly focus on the refitted first war ships and the redesigned Halsey-class Tactical Destroyers, the Spruance-class, as their mains ships. Armaments The Luna-class Space Escort is equipped with only a handful of weapons thanks to being mainly an escort and patrol ship. However even then these weapons are powerful enough to handle most small ships like the Earth Alliance Drake-class Frigate easily. *'XM24 375mm Duel High Energy Beam Cannons' *'M3A9 35mm CIWS Cannons' *'Mark IV 12-Inch Torpedo Launchers' Variants The Luna-class sports only a handful of variants mainly for other duties in ZAFT and for other allied forces as well as those under the control of Third Parties. ;*Flight I/Luna-class :The first one-hundred fifty or so ships produced by ZAFT and are named after moons of the solar system. ;*Flight II/Apollo-class :A new version of the class produced after the end of the First War and into the second war. Slightly better weapons and engines along with several additions. These ships are named after notable asteroids and comets in the Sol System. ;*Pluto-class Frigate :A slightly larger, up-gunned, version of the Luna-class that was developed in response to the Alliance’s Hood-class but like its counterpart only a few ships were ever produced as ZAFT focuses on first war refitted ships. Notes & Trivia *'Notes:' Based heavily on the Zeon Final Production Type Musai-class Light Cruiser, just adding a small mobile hanger along the belly of the forward hull which looks like a large bulge. Also added an aft-facing turret covering one of the more notable weaknesses of the Musai-class design. Category:Warships Category:Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Angelic Saga Category:Corvette